Star Trek: Overwatch B1: Fire and Rain
by Jupitus Garth
Summary: In 2269 (in the Original Series Time Frame), a vast Starbase on the frontier is completed. On his journey to his new posting, the ship Admiral Brax Thalon is on is attacked. A fight for survival ensues. While a ship is on it's way to offer assistance, they are over a day away. Will it be too late?
1. ST59OB1Chapter01FaR

**Chapter One**

Admiral Brax Thalon, the middle aged, light blue skinned, short cropped white haired, dual antennae Andorian. Sat in his small quarters aboard the _U.S.S. Evergreen._ As it traversed interstellar space, towards his new posting. All the while, staring, square eyed at the computer monitor.

From everything he had managed to learn, either through documents issued to him by Starfleet, or his own research. Several things caught his eye. Firstly, Starbase 59, aka Overwatch, was Guardtower class, only one of two constructed. Secondly, that it had almost taken a decade to complete. It's constructed inexplicably halted for an entire two years, from 2264 to 2266. Thirdly was its size. At just over 1800 meters wide and 1900 meters tall, it was by large the biggest facility he had ever been given command of. Fourth was the fact that it was a multi-purpose facility. Not a research and development station, as had been his last command. He wondered why they had thought to put him, a scientist, in charge of a starbase? Whatever the reason, his superiors had as of yet, not divulged that information to him.

As far as the personnel went, he had looked over the files of the department heads. Well those that had been assigned. The station was still lacking in a security chief, as well as several key personnel in different sectors. From everything he read of those that were there. They all looked like well accomplished, dedicated officers. However, as always, the files lacked any sense of who they were as _people_. At his last posting, as the commander of a tactical research station. He tried to get to know those directly under his command, and found that knowing them more than just officers. More than simply cogs in a machine, that he could better ascertain their true strengths and weaknesses. He found that it made the work place feel more alive, more interactive. It became more than a job, they were there for a reason, they were there for discovery.

He scratched his well trimmed, white beard before rubbing his tired eyes. He must have been reading through the files for over a day now. He checked the time to find, that sure enough, that at thirteen-hundred hours he had been. Thalon closed all the files, before he rose from the chair and walked passed the small partition into the bedroom area. He promptly collapsed onto the bed, his legs stretched out and his arms resting on his chest. He hadn't slept yet and had spent all yesterday morning, night, and most of today, reading through everything his new posting could possibly throw at him. Including personnel files on the top ranking officers on the ships that would be assigned to the starbase. It was a colossal job, though he felt that it was important for him to be as organized as he possibly could be.

Now he felt exhausted, more so than he had done moments, earlier. He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling before his eyes began to drift slowly closed. Only the sound of the ships engines were audible to him, it's deep thrum, calming to the weary admiral. That's when much to his chagrin, his stomach began to growl. He sighed with annoyance. No matter how tired he was. He knew trying to sleep on an empty stomach, would give him no end of grief.

He forced himself into a sitting position, his legs over the edge, his feet resting on the floor. With a hefty push and a grunt, he managed to get to rise up.

He made his way out of his quarters, stepping out into the busy corridor. Luckily, the nearest officers mess was just a deck down, and the nearest turbo-shaft was just around the corner.

He began to walk down the corridor, turning left at the junction. His pace began to increase when he saw the ships second officer, Lieutenant N'reinn step into the turbo-lift.

"Hold for a second." he uttered, as he broke into a slow jog.

N'reinn, the fur covered, feline Caitian. Looked back at him and nodded, swiping a bit of loose light brown hair from her face, that had escaped the tight ponytail she had it tied into. She was shorter than the average humanoid at around one-point-six metres. Though looked like she could still easily take on anyone, who dared to trifle with her.

She smiled as he stepped in beside her. "Admiral." she greeted.

"Thanks." he said.

"Not everyday you see a half asleep admiral running for the elevator." she joked. "Where are you heading?"

"Mess hall, deck five." he told her.

"That's where I'm heading. On shift in another hour." she promptly twisted one of the many control handles that lined the wall of the turbo-car. "Deck five, mess." she commanded.

The doors slid closed and the turbo-lift moved for all but five second, before the doors slid open again.

"After you." he said with a smile.

She headed out, closely followed by the admiral. He quickly moved in step beside her.

"So, how long have you been aboard the Evergreen?" he asked her, knowing full well after looking through her personnel files, how long it had been.

"A while." she responded. "Was aboard her when she was a Hermes class, and that was about six years ago. Was an ensign when I came aboard about eight years ago, but was promoted. But after they gave her such an extensive refit, making her practically a light-cruiser, they reclassified her as a Edward Jenner-class. The security chief was reassigned and I was promoted from lieutenant junior grade to lieutenant."

The modifications she was talking about, was the adding of a new section to the aft of the ship, which made it look a bit like a single nacelle Miranda class, just not as long. They also gave her a larger engineering deck, giving her more power. But with only one nacelle, that power couldn't be put to good use for warp speed. He supposed it was all put to use in the sensor grid. The ship was a science vessel after all, and powerful sensors were a commodity that usually only the capital ships had the luxury of having. But he bet that this ships sensors would put even a Constitution-class starship's to shame.

They both entered the mess hall and stepped up to the food slots, where they placed in their cards and ordered their reconstituted, synthetic meals.

Thalon ordered some corn flakes and a glass of copun juice, while N'reinn ordered something that was clearly some kind of fish and water.

"Mind of I sit with you?" the Caitian asked.

"Not at all." he said as they both sat down at a table. Thalon looked at her as she sunk her fork into her meal. "So," he began. "How's the challenge here?"

After chewing and swallowing what was on her fork, she responded. "Isn't really any challenge here." she told him. "We've been in the occasional shooting match with other ships out on the frontier, but that's very rare. I think it's only been twice in eight years in fact."

"Ever thought of doing something else?" he asked her. "Something with challenge?"

"I have." she told him. "But security on a science vessel is seen as a bit of a joke."

Thalon's antennae twitched, and his eyebrows raised. "It is?" he asked.

"Well maybe not a joke, but it's hard to go from chief of security and tactical officer on a science ship, to one on a cruiser, or escort. They just feel you don't have the experience."

"Well as of yet, there isn't a security chief on Overwatch." he told her. "And you look like you need a decent challenge."

"Offering me the job?" she asked.

"I did view your service record." he added. "You're a quick thinker and observant."

"You viewed _my _service record?" she asked a little surprised.

"The _Evergreen _is going to be stationed at Starbase 59, so I checked over all of your service records."

She shook her head. "Well thanks for the offer, but no way will command allow the transfer of a security chief of a science ship, to a two kilometre wide starbase. They want someone who has experience, and someone who is higher in rank than lieutenant."

"I don't have experience commanding a main starbase facility such as Overwatch." he pointed out. "So perhaps it isn't completely impossible."

N'reinn smiled. "Maybe." she responded.

They both finished their meals before leaving. N'reinn said her farewell as she headed the opposite direction to him. A few minutes later, he was back in his quarters fast asleep.

* * *

Lieutenant Kincaid, the dark haired junior science officer, looked into the scanner as he read the odd reading for a second time. The reading was coming from the aft, seemingly trailing them by about eighteen light minutes.

He glanced around, seeing the ships tactical officer, N'reinn look over to him from the tactical station that lay just to the left of him.

She nodded to him, she too had noticed the strange reading from aft. They both turned to the command officer on watch, Commander Saaris, a tall, lean and dark, short haired Vulcan. She was the chief of sciences on the ship and was currently in the command chair.

N'reinn reported what they were reading. "Commander, we are picking up a strange reading from aft. Roughly seventeen to nineteen light minutes behind us. Low level gamma radiation signature."

Saaris turned to them. "Any indication as to what it might be?"

Kincaid responded. "Non, sir. It is some kind of distortion that appears to be keeping pace with us."

Saaris rose from the command chair and stepped up to the science console. Kincaid stepped out of the way as she peered into the scanner.

She stood up and looked to the both of them after taking some readings. "The gamma radiation indicated that it is a possible cloaked vessel."

"I was thinking that," N'reinn agreed. "But, we're far away from either Romulan, or Klingon space."

Saaris took another brief glance into the scope before turning to the helm. "Increase speed to warp six and alter heading to one-five-five, mark one."

Ensign Cooper, the helmsman turned around in his seat to face her. "Sir, that's only a heading change of point one-zero-one-eight degrees to the port."

Saaris stood firm in her command. "That is correct, Ensign. I want us to pass closer to the planetary star system L-112. We will now do so at a distance of point two-five light years."

N'reinn was intrigued. "Have something in mind?" she asked.

"Yes, Lieutenant." Saaris acknowledged, as she stepped back down to the command chair. With a quick press of a button, she activated the intercom. "Captain Macadam to the bridge." she said.

A few moments later the reply came. _"Anything the matter, commander?"_

"We have a strange energy reading that appears to be following us." She turned to Kincaid. "Since we altered course and warp factor, has it made any changes?"

Kincaid nodded. "We've change course and speed. The pursuer, if it is a pursuer has changed warp factor, but not corrected their course heading."

Saaris turned back to the chair. "Captain?" she said, asking him whether he could hear the lieutenant.

_ "I heard it. I'm on my way."_

Not five minutes later. The dark, clean shaven, chiselled captain, was setting foot onto the bridge. He didn't waste time looking for options.

"Is there a way to detect what it is, without them knowing we're actively looking for them?" he asked. As he leaned on the bright red railing, facing the science station.

Saaris, who had now relieved the junior officer sat at her station. "No, I do not believe there is."

"And you're sure it's a cloaked ship?" he asked.

"It is a simple and logical hypothesis. I have referenced the readings on what we know of cloaking technology, and there are clear similarities."

Macadam turned to the view screen. "Maybe we should hail them tell them, tell them we know they're there."

N'reinn almost leapt from her seat. "Are you mad!?" she asked, before adding. "Sir."

Macadam glared at her. "What was that Lieutenant?"

Saaris spoke up, turning the captain's gaze from the security chief to the Vulcan. "Despite her outburst, she is correct."

"That I'm mad?" the captain asked. Shooting a foul glance at the Caitian.

"No, that it would be foolish to do so. If we reveal that we know of their presence, then they may attack us."

"They may attack us anyway." Macadam pointed out. "You did change course so that we would pass closer to the L-112 star system. So you must think an attack is possible?"

"I believe an attack is most probable." the Vulcan corrected. "It was a risk increasing our space-warp factor to six, they may have taken that as a sign that they had been discovered. They may even now believe, that they have in fact been discovered."

Macadam wiped beads of sweat that had formed off of his brow. "Wouldn't they have attacked us already, if that was their goal?"

The commander shook her head. "Not necessarily, sir. They could be observing us. Seeing where we are headed. However, curiosity is a commodity that wanes thin with time."

"Do you think that we should send a message to Starbase 59?" he asked.

Saaris was blunt in her response. "No sir. Any messages going out so soon after altering our heading and warp factor would be seen as an indication of their discovery."

"Any suggestions?"

N'reinn decided now was her time to speak up. She was the ships tactical officer, even if they rarely needed her other than shooting asteroids. "sir, I suggest that when we get close to System L-112, that we change course and enter that system. We can use it to evade them."

Macadam turned to her. "That's not going to happen. We keep pace and continue towards Starbase 59."

Saaris disagreed. "Sir, Starbase 59 is still thirty-seven-point-two hours away. If their intentions are to attack, then they will have done so long before that."

"So, what should we do?" he asked, unsure of what his science officer was trying to tell him.

"Commander N'reinn is correct. Our safest bet is to alter course and enter the star system."

"Do you think we can take them on?" Macadam asked.

N'reinn answered. "If it's Romulans, then I have no idea. They usually use Warbirds or Birds of Prey. We would be pulverised by either of those. If it's Klingon, then anything over a D5 and we'd really struggle."

Saaris agreed. "You are correct. However, no matter who it is, we will have a better chance in the star system."

Macadam wasn't following her train of thought. There was clearly something he did not know. "I don't understand, what is so important about the star system?"

Saaris responded in her usual composed manner. "The system is home to a large gas super giant. It gives off huge amounts of radiation. It is on the verge of having enough mass to instigate nuclear fusion, becoming a star. This event would make L-112 a binary system."

Macadam, who was a scientist first and captain second, understood where she was going. "We can hide in the planets radiation belt. Our superior sensors will be able to break through the interference, while they won't be able to detect us."

Saaris turned to her station and brought up all the available information on the gas super giant. After a moment she turned back to the captain. "As I suspected, Captain. While we will be able to hide within it's radiation belt, the interference won't completely hide us from sensors.

"So they'll be able to see us?"

"They will know our location within two to four-thousand kilometres."

"That's a pretty big area, commander." Macadam pointed out.

"However the planet's atmosphere is highly volatile. A sufficient energy beam hitting it would send out a jet of corrosive matter, that is high in radiation and charged particles."

"We'd be in trouble if that happened."

"The radiation belt is still our best option. If that fails however, and we are unable to defend ourselves, then there is a moon that is class M. It orbits the host planet at about one million kilometres."

Macadam stepped over to his chair and sat in it. "Okay, this is what we do. When it is time to set course for L-112, we send out a distress signal to Starbase 59. We then try and use the gas giant as cover and hope they don't get in any lucky shots. At us or on the planet." He turned to Saaris. "This better be a cloaked ship, because We'll all look foolish if it isn't."

N'reinn turned from her station, after taking some additional low level scans. "Well whatever it is. It has now matched our exact course. Maintaining distance."

Saaris peered back into her science scanner, taking readings from the distortion to aft. After a few moments, she saw a small fluctuation. She time stamped the occurrence, then performed a full analysis on it. The results showed a warp field, the signature unmistakably Klingon.

Macadam turned to her, noticing that her attention was focused on something "Got anything, Commander?" he asked her.

"The cloak manages to conceal almost everything about the pursuer. However a small fluctuation has revealed a Klingon warp signature."

Macadam drummed the arms of his chair with his fingers. "So it is a cloaked ship." he said solemnly.

"That is what these readings show."

"Do you think we should inform the admiral?" he asked.

"That is up to you, sir." the Vulcan informed him. "However, I assume he would like to be informed of these events."

"I think I'll do that." He rose up from his seat. "I think I'll do it now." he said as he headed for the turbo-lift.

N'reinn called after him. "Four hours, Captain."

"Four hours." he repeated, as the doors slid shut behind him.


	2. ST59OB1Chapter02FaR

**Chapter Two**

It had been a long day, a very long day. Running a starbase was tough work, especially when one was doing more than one role. That and the fact the starbase was huge. At just under two kilometres wide at the top section and just as tall.

Commander Alvise Gessi, the sandy brown haired, tanned skinned human executive officer, turned temporary station commander, felt like he was over his head. When he had been given this assignment, he hadn't realised just how unfinished the station was. When he had arrived just over six months ago, they hadn't even finished putting on the hull plating on. In fact, you could see into where the terrestrial enclosure was going to be.

Today it was all different. The station was practically finished. Though without key personnel, running the station was only just short of a nightmare. Especially when today saw the grand opening of said terrestrial enclosure.

For the first time, the whole area was open. Civilians were now taking up residence in Starside, the tiny residential area located inside the enclosure, and businesses located in the central column were finally able to start opening their doors. There were problems of course. There always was when a large group of civilians were trying to do the same thing at the same time. Fights broke out, one of which was actually started by his acting security chief. It was a problem for a head of department to start altercations at the best of times, but this was the third fight he had actually instigated.

Right now he awaited the arrival of that acting security chief, going over the various reports reports of the day while he did so. Including on the civilians and security personnel, who actually had to be taken to the medical centre, for non serious treatments, luckily.

The small intercom speaker on his desk chimed, followed shortly by the voice of the Saurian yeoman, a young male by the name of Rialtan.

_"Sir."_ his voice said over the intercom, in almost a hiss. _"Lieutenant Xern is here as ordered."_

Commander Gessi pressed the small button on the intercom panel and responded. "Send him in."

The doors slid open as the large, short bearded Tellarite man strode in. His arms were held out away from his body in an attempt to make himself look bigger, but all it did was make him look like he was trying to air out his armpits. As someone who had been a security officer and chief in the past. Gessi knew that holding ones arms like that didn't serve any purpose, other than to try and intimidate another. In any real security situation, it just slowed your reaction time down and made you look like an idiot.

Lieutenant Xern slammed himself down into the chair opposite the commander and his desk, the chair making a cracking sound as he did so, a foul look on his face.

Gessi was experienced in dealing with Tellarites. He knew that he had to be firm, but fair. Though by judging by what he had heard, Xern wasn't either. It was rumoured that he had an iron fist and no velvet glove.

"Why have you torn me away from my duties!?" Xern questioned angrily. "I have more important things to do."

Commander Gessi leaned forward, webbing his fingers. "Just answer me this, Lieutenant. Why do you keep starting fights?"

The Tellarite snorted. "I do _not _start fights."

"This is the third time I have had a complaint. Both civilian and starfleet witnesses say the same thing. You rile up the person or persons you're trying to calm down so much, that they actually become violent."

"It is not my fault people cannot control themselves!" Xern defended.

Gessi un-webbed his fingers and laid them flat on his desk. "The role of security extends beyond protection and crowd control. It's about diffusing a situation before it becomes violent. To be empathic with the problem, not make them so angry they attack you."

"You and your touchy feely emotions. Tellarites say what they mean and mean what they say."

Gessi unconsciously folded his arms, then consciously unfolded them again, realising he didn't want to give off the wrong kind of body language. "Okay, Lieutenant. You are the most experienced security officer on this station, which I might add is a very sad state of affairs."

Xern smiled. "See, it isn't that hard to say what you mean is it." His smile turned to a scowl. "Of course it is all nonsense. With no one on the books to replace me, you'll soon get the orders to promote me to Lieutenant Commander. Placing me in charge of security in a more permanent role. I will whip this place into a strict order that befits a Starfleet station."

"First of all, this is a Starfleet _and_ Federation station, that means we have civilians to accommodate. Secondly, I have already received a recommendation to have you promoted."

"Well then. I await the promotion with baited breath."

Gessi restrained an angry rebuke. Instead he responded calmly. "I personally sent a response with a list of reasons why you were _not_ the one for the job."

"You did what!?" Xern bellowed angrily, jumping out of his seat. "When the Admiral arrives, I'll see to it that I get that promotion!"

"Before he promotes anyone he'll check over the negative reports regarding that officer. The thing that will stick out to him is the giant red text that shows you put a civilian into the medical centre with a busted jaw, for no reason."

"He attacked me!"

"You restrain, Lieutenant. You do not fight!" he said back in a raised voice.

"It was too late for that!" Xern yelled back. "People should learn to control themselves!" He sat heavily back down into the chair. "It is not my problem if they cannot."

Gessi found himself troubled by the Lieutenant. He had been both commanded by and been in command of Tellarites before. They tended to be a bit blunt and brash compared to other species, but Xern was outright hostile. Seeing himself as the victim, and not the instigator of violence. It was as if he couldn't see that how one reacted, effected the outcome.

Commander Gessi spoke frankly to the Lieutenant. "Xern, regardless of how you might react to a situation off duty. When you are on duty, you are expected to do your job. That involves diffusing situations, not escalating them. Do I make myself clear?"

Xern puffed out his chest. "Are you saying that I'm not performing my duty!?"

"Not to standard, no."

"Well the standard is clearly wrong in this matter. In terms of security, what I say goes!"

Gessi cleared the phlegm that was building in his throat with a cough. He answered steadily, measuring each word carefully. "Lieutenant." he began. "When dealing with an issue, it is the security officer's job to reduce risks from arising. To disarm situations that are at risk of getting out of control. Even if it is the other person who cannot control themselves, once it turns into a fight, then it is the security officer who has lost control."

Xern's response showed the Commander that he hadn't grasped what he was being told. "A quick smack to the face usually gets the situation back in control."

Gessi was about to respond when the intercom chimed with a message from his yeoman.

_"Sir, you are required in the operations centre. There has been a distress call from the _Starship Evergreen_."_

Gessi activated the intercom. "On my way." He looked to Xern. "We'll have to discuss this another time." he told him.

Xern wasted no time standing up. "I do not look forward to it!" He stormed off out of the door, almost ploughing into them as they opened.

After the doors had closed, Gessi rubbed his eyes. "Dismissed, I guess." he mused before he too rose from his chair.

He strode out of his office. Through his yeoman's office, into the large operations centre. Its layout was similar to that of a standard starship bridge, only on a much larger scale. The control room was tiered on levels. Each level, which was surrounded by stations, gradually descended to a command area in the middle. The command area was twice the size of a regular bridge, but in the same layout, with stations surrounding the central command console, that replaced the captains chair, helm and navigation.

He stepped down into the centre where he spoke to the officer on watch, which happened to also be the young Hispanic, black haired chief communications officer. Lieutenant Rivera.

Gessi got straight to it. "Report."

Rivera responded concisely. "The _U.S.S. Evergreen _is reporting that they are being pursued by a cloaked Klingon vessel. They have taken refuge in the L-112 star system. They request assistance."

"What's the closest ship we have?" the Commander asked.

"Only the one we have in dock." Rivera responded.

The ship they had in dock was the _U.S.S. Shaandra_ and it was somewhat of a new ship. With a new type of warp drive, hull plating and shielding systems. It was hardly the ship he was comfortable sending out against Klingons.

"What about the _London_?" the Commander asked.

"Still at the New Loknar colony, overlooking the construction of the defensive systems on the planet's orbital station."

"How long would it take the _Shaandra _to get there versus the _London_?"

"Well, the _Shaandra _can be there in twenty-six hours, but the _London?_ We're looking at three days at least."

Gessi thought for a moment. "Send the _Shaandra_ with one of the station's Cray_-_class defenders."

The Cray-class defenders, were similar in design to the stardrive section on a Constitution-class starship, only stubbier and with a newer, sleeker nacelle design. When they weren't out in patrol near the station, they were housed in bays. Located in the stations maintenance sector, above the Lightening-Class fighter bays.

After recent events on a certain Watchtower-class space station, he was glad to have the extra fire power if they needed it.

"Sir." Rivera began. "The Cray-class ships are slower than the _Shaandra,_ they'd probably slow the ETA down to twenty-nine hours."

"Have the _Shaandra_ go there at top speed, and the other ship get there as fast as they can. I want to send a message to the Klingons. We're here now and we won't be scared off, not by them, not by anyone."

"Yes, sir."

"Get Captain Herrera on the line. I want that ship out of those space doors in the next hour."

His long day had just gotten longer. Much longer.

* * *

Captain Amaranta Herrera, the Dark haired, dark eyed and dark skinned, Hispanic captain of the _Shaandra_ was enjoying her walk with her science, and third officer, Lieutenant Angela Anson. Angela was a typical Caucasian with light blonde, almost non-regulation long sweeping hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion.

They had known each other as long as it had taken them to get from Sol, to Starbase 59. Which had been about a month, a very uninteresting month.

The two of them were currently trying to get to know each other better, and they were doing so by wandering through the small woodland area of the station's vast terrestrial enclosure.

The whole enclosure was amazing. While Captain Herrera had seen them before, never had she seen one so vast. From one side to the other, she guessed it had to be just over a kilometre, not counting the sides, where the ground rose up to meet the realistic simulated sky domed ceiling.

Herrera wondered what it would be like to climb up the side and touch the sky, she wondered what it even looked like up close. She also wondered what it would be like, to be here when the station was placed under red alert. On other stations, an area that was over a certain size such as this had to be evacuated. The area fully locked down in the case of a hull breach.

The Captain looked over at Anson. The two of them hadn't been talking much, instead they had simply been enjoying the simulated fresh air. It was good to be outdoors after a month in a ship, even if it was to some extent make-believe.

"I'm very impressed." The Captain said as she took a deep breath.

Anson agreed. "It certainly is the best I've seen so far. With the exception of the lack of any breeze whatsoever and a few things here and there, I'd actually think I was on a planet."

The Captain's communicator began to beep. She reached around to her lower back where it lay, and grabbed it in her hand, flipping it open, before she rose it to her mouth.

"Captain Herrera here, go ahead."

_"This is Commander Gessi. We have received a distress call from the _U.S.S. Evergreen_, we need the Shaandra to depart as soon as possible."_

"Understood."

_"Once you're back aboard your ship, I'll send you a full brief on the situation."_

"Yes, sir. I'm going to give the order for all personnel to return to the ship immediately."

_"Excellent Captain, Gessi out."_

As Herrera put her communicator away, she saw Anson looking at her with a slight worried expression.

"One of our ships is under attack?" she asked. "Do you think they know who it is that's attacking?"

"I'm sure if they know, It'll be in the brief." Herrera responded. "Come on, we've got to get to the space dock."

They both began to hurry out of the small woodland, towards the giant central tower that went from beneath the dirt ground all the way up into the simulated sky dome. It was the central hub for turbo-lifts, power, cargo transfer and also housed a rather large shopping mall.

They reached the centre tower a few minutes later. Both of them stepped into the large turbo-car as it's only two occupants exited it, Herrera gripped on of the many control handles and twisted it "Dock four, umbilical." She ordered. "Emergency override, Herrera 4327-D. Head straight to the destination, no stops, maximum safe speed."

The turbo-car began to descend, it's speed increasing rapidly. It was a little disconcerting, but another federation ship was in trouble. The horrid, but brief feeling of falling was nothing in comparison

Before long, she was in her office, receiving the full brief. It didn't look good. Klingons was what the report said, and that wasn't good. That meant that they either went through Romulan space and then around the perimeter of Federation space to get here, or they just cut straight through Federation space. The latter was what worried her. If they were capable of freely traversing through their space under cloak without being detected, then a whole force of Klingon ships could attack any target within the Federation. Right now, luckily. They were protected by the Organian peace treaty, so they Klingons were less likely to try and do something outright hostile. But the threat was there, and it was quite real. With a Cray-class defender going with them, it was clear that the station commander was taking it very seriously.

Without a moment to lose, she headed for the bridge. She would brief the senior officers on the way. Once all the crew were back aboard they would be heading out, their fate and the fate of the _Evergreen _unknown.

As she stepped out of the turbo-lift, she was greeted by the familiar dull black and grey bridge of her ship. It was the future, an admiral had told her, back when she had first seen it. Dull and boring, was what she had thought.

She went straight to tactical, that lay to the left of science on the outer ring of consoles, where she was greeted by her slender, tall, red haired first officer, Commander Coleman.

He turned to her with a nod. "We'll be ready to defend the _Evergreen _from whatever is attacking her."

"Klingons." Herrera informed him. "And they're almost a day away."

"How long exactly?" He asked her.

"Twenty-six, but I'll get the engineer to get us there in twenty."

Coleman shook his head. "I fear that Grendar will take it as a challenge."

She headed over to her chair and sat down. "You know he will, and the _Evergreen _is counting on it."

She activated the intercom on her chair. "Herrera to Grendar."

_"Grendar here." _the ship's Denobulan, chief engineer responded.

"How long do you think we could hold warp nine for?"

_"How long do you need?"_

"A few hours at least."

_"Probably not, but I'll give it a go."_

"Good man." Herrera said as she closed the channel. She turned to Ensign Hudson. "Is everyone aboard?" she asked.

"Another few minutes Captain." he responded.

"Tell them to get their asses in gear, we need to be out of dock ASAP."

"Yes, sir."

Ten minutes later, the _Shaandra_ had left space dock and was warping towards L-112.

* * *

Commander Gessi watched the _Shaandra _warp away. He had been looking forward to the arrival of the _Evergreen_, and for Admiral Thalon to take his place as the stations commander. Now however, it looked like it would never arrive. A Klingon ship would probably make short work of the science vessel and that would mean he would have to do the job of station commander, first officer and general handyman for the foreseeable future.

His more immediate and local problem however, was Xern. He had been contemplating taking him off the duty roster for a few days, force him to think about what he had done wrong. But they needed him where he was, much to the Commander's chagrin.

Now, however. He would have to start on his report regarding the situation with the Klingons and the _Evergreen_ to Starfleet. They would need to know everything he knew. They would also need to know his thoughts on their chances of survival. A day was a long time, and the _Shaandra _was probably already an hour too late.

He was running an incomplete station, this area of space had insufficient patrols and he was doing more than two jobs at once.

Gessi realised he preferred his last posting on Starbase 1. It may have been boring, but at least it was relatively safe.

He rubbed his eyes before he began to write the report, the overly short report.


	3. ST59OB1Chapter03FaR

**Chapter Three**

For the second time, Captain Macadam ordered the ship out of warp. It did so, their cloaked pursuer sailed passed as they had done once before.

He turned to N'reinn. "Have they swung about like they did the last time?" he asked.

"No, sir. This time they are holding position forty-four light minutes ahead of us." the Caitian responded.

He looked over at Saaris. "Thoughts?"

"They are waiting for us to jump back to warp." she informed him. "They know that if they come about in order to face us off, we will jump to warp as we have done previously. They will then have to catch us up once more to get into weapons range. I doubt they will come about as they know our tactic in that situation."

"Any good news?" the captain asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Lieutenant Bridges turned from the communications station. "Sir, just received a message from Overwatch, they are sending reinforcements. The _Starship Shaandra _and one of the stations defender ships. ETA twenty-six hours on the outside."

Macadam rubbed his eyes. "Twenty-six hours too late." he said sombrely. He was a scientist, not a tactical officer. He couldn't win against a Klingon ship. He simply didn't have the battle chops to pull it off.

N'reinn turned from her station, facing the captain. "I've lost track of the ship."

Saaris concurred. "The vessel is no longer visible on our sensors. Trying to recalibrate."

He drummed his fingers on the edge of his chair, before wiping the sweat that had formed, off of his brow. "Did they find a way to stop energy escaping from the cloak?"

"Unknown." Saaris reported.

N'reinn gave her opinion. "Maybe they just reduced their power output." she suggested.

Saaris turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Possible, that would reduce their energy footprint, and considering they were virtually invisible before."

Macadam looked out of the view-screen into the blackness beyond. "Do you think they could be sneaking up on us right now?"

"Unknown." Saaris responded.

N'reinn added. "I'd say most likely."

Macadam sat there thinking for a moment. He had no idea what to do. If they turned around and headed for the starbase, they would be caught up in no time. If they continued on to the star system, there was a real chance they would fly into a stream of disruptor fire.

He looked around at everyone on the bridge. They were all fairly bright people, one of them must have a recommendation. "Any ideas, anyone?" the Captain asked.

Saaris was the first to respond. "I suggest we wait for them to make the next move. The longer we are at an impasse, the closer the _U.S.S. Shaandra _will get to our location, increasing our chances of survival."

Macadam clenched his jaw, turning to his tactical officer. "Lieutenant N'reinn, you're supposed to be the expert on offence and defence. What is your suggestion?"

N'reinn peered out of the view screen for a few seconds. "How about we punch it, I mean _really _punch it. Push the ship as fast as it'll go. If the bolts aren't being shaken free from the bulkheads, then we aren't going fast enough."

The Captain rubbed his eyes once more. "Better than just waiting for them to de-cloak and blow us to bits."

The helmsman cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Orders, Captain?"

They had all been together for a few years now. Macadam knew that if anyone could hold it together long enough for backup to arrive, it was his officers and crew. He sprung into action, activating the intercom on the side of his chair.

"Captain to engineering."

_"Gyreth, here."_ the ships Tellarite chief engineer responded.

"We're going to need as much power to the engines as you can manage."

_"I can do that, how fast are you wanting to go?"_

"Up till the nacelle strut is about to separate from the hull."

_"Power to structural integrity and the engines. Understood, Gyreth out."_

Things were now set in motion, and the Captain had no intention of changing things now. "Helm, make sure our course is set to that star system."

"It is, Captain."

He looked over at N'reinn. "Let's hope this plan works." Macadam leant forwards in his chair. "When I give the signal, I want us to be accelerating to maximum warp as fast as possible."

"Understood." the helmsman said.

The Captain turned back to N'reinn as her hands began to click at her console.

She turned to him. "Vessel of unknown configuration uncloaking, five kilometres to port."

"Get us out of here!" he yelled.

The helmsman hands flew across his console as the ship jumped to warp. It was almost too late, as the ship shuddered from a direct hit of disruptor fire.

"Report!" Macadam ordered.

Bridges looked around from communications. "No reports of injury Captain."

N'reinn concurred. "Minimal damage, a glancing blow, sir."

The Captain breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, someone said the ship was of unknown type. Want to elaborate anyone?"

Saaris spoke first. "The Klingon vessel is of unknown configuration." she said, as the first signs of their excessive acceleration started to show. The bridge was beginning to vibrate slightly. It was noticeable, but far from uncomfortable.

"Put the ship up on screen." he said.

The image of a Klingon cruiser shimmered onto the screen. It's long neck, large engineering section, swooping down nacelles and bulbous command section were unmistakable to him.

N'reinn reported. "The Klingon vessel is now in pursuit. Our current acceleration will being us to the star system in seven minutes."

He gestured at the image on screen. "That's a D7." he told them. "Nevertheless, we cannot stand up to a D7."

Saaris agreed with his assessment on their chances of survival, but disagreed on his identification of the vessel. "It is similar to a D7, however this vessel has been modified."

"Modified?" he asked. "Is it the Romulan variant?"

"No sir, it bears the markings of the Klingon Empire. I believe it has been refitted." Saaris told him.

"Refitted?" he questioned, fear creeping into his voice. "We can't stand up to a regular D7, hell we can't stand up to a D6, let alone a refitted Klingon ship!"

The bridge of the ship began to vibrate more violently as the ship passed it's top rated speed of warp seven, as it continued to accelerate. Soon the ship felt like it was going to shake itself to pieces as they pushed her engine harder than they ever had before.

"ETA?" the Captain asked, barely able to hear his own voice over the sound of the vibrating metal around him.

The helmsman responded, his own voice barely audible. "We've passed warp eight and will arrive in four minutes!"

"Will the enemy ship catch us up before then?"

N'reinn shouted her response over the loud shuddering sound that surrounded them. "It'll be really close, sir!"

Macadam gripped the sides of his chair tightly. It felt like he was going to be thrown out onto the deck at any moment. The vibrations were starting to hurt his bones, he felt like he might be shaken apart himself at any moment.

The next four minutes were like torture, complete with several calls from the ships chief engineer for them to slow down. Soon however they were at full impulse, heading into the ionosphere of the systems vast gas giant. Once inside, the Captain ordered all non essential systems to be powered down to reduce the amount of energy output. Hopefully, it along with the radiation from the planet, they would be invisible to the pursuing Klingon vessel.

With luck, all they had to do now was wait.

* * *

Admiral Thalon, sat at the end of the large table, in the briefing room of the _Evergreen._ He was awaiting the arrival of the vessels senior officers. He wanted options, just in case they couldn't remain hidden until the cavalry arrived.

They had now been in close orbit of the gas giant for about an hour. The Klingon ship was in a higher orbit, sending out deep scans in their general direction. So far those scans had been localised within a three-thousand kilometre radius, giving the crew of the Federation Starship, quite a bit of room to breath.

The doors slid open and Captain Macadam entered, followed by N'reinn, Saaris, chief medical officer Schaffer, and the Chief Engineer Gyreth. They all sat down uncomfortably. No one wanted to be in the situation they found themselves in. Nevertheless, they were in it regardless.

The Admiral began. "There is the distinct possibility, that we cannot hide here forever. We need a contingency plan."

Saaris agreed. "Of course, Admiral. I have already taken this into consideration. There is a moon that is class M, orbiting the gas giant."

Macadam interjected. "Yes, but going down to a planet surface isn't very smart. The Klingon's could just fire a photon torpedo down onto our location and wipe us out."

N'reinn disagreed. "The majority of the reports suggest, that Klingons prefer a more personal approach. If we were forced to abandon ship, they would probably beam down also. Confront us face to face, not hiding in orbit."

Macadam drummed his fingers onto the tabletop. "Majority of the reports, Lieutenant." he said to her. "We have to avoid that at all costs. Besides, how is them beaming down and slaughtering us any better than them shooting us dead from orbit?"

Doctor Schaffer, who was a tall, dark brown haired, fairly average looking man, leaned forwards, his fingers webbed. "I think everyone's in agreement that we should avoid it at all costs, but if we think the ship is lost, then we need to at least try and save as many people as possible. Of course from what Commander Saaris told me," he looked cross at the science officer with a warm smile. "There is some radiation penetrating our shields. I have the labs manufacturing a lot of shots for the crew, which should be ready within the next hour."

Thalon looked at the four officers before him. So far Gyreth had remained quiet. "Any thoughts?" he asked the light brown haired, large bearded, Tellarite engineer.

"Yes." he responded gruffly. "My suggestion is to arm everybody. The Klingons may try to disable our ship, and board us to learn more about our technology."

The Admiral nodded. "Agreed, I believe we should arm as many people as we can. Just in case." He turned to Macadam. "Do you agree, Captain?"

Macadam folded his arms, clearly not liking the fact that he was not in charge of the conversation. "If you think that's best, Admiral."

"I do."

"Then it'll be done, sir." the Captain confirmed.

Thalon looked over to Saaris, who seemed to be puzzled by something. "What's wrong, Commander?"

Saaris looked over at him. "I am confused as to why they have pursued us at all. We have no information that is of any relevance to them, unless they are desperate to get their hands on astronomical data, such as local nebula composition."

Thalon stroked his beard. "Yes, it is quite peculiar."

"Of course." the Vulcan continued. "It could be that they are after you, Admiral."

Thalon's eyebrows and antennae shot up in alarm. "What do you mean, me?"

Saaris explained. "After some brief research, I discovered that the Starbase 59 Overwatch, has a few key personnel missing. Removing you would aid any goal of destabilizing this area of space."

The Admiral didn't know how he felt about that revelation. Never had he thought himself a possible target for assassination by a foreign nation before. Sure, he'd worked on a tactical research station, but that had been deep within federation space. Could it be that the threat every person on this ship currently faced was his fault?

"That's some speculation." N'reinn said to Saaris, clearly unconvinced. "They're after something, sure. What? I have no clue. The more likely scenario is that they want to know why Starfleet had built a great honking starbase on the frontier."

Doctor Schaffer cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. "Seems to me, that nobody has a clue as to their motivations."

Saaris nodded to him. "That is correct, Doctor."

Thalon saw a smile spread over the Doctor's face as Saaris spoke to him, he also noted a slight redness that appeared in his cheeks. _Is he blushing_? The Admiral thought. He turned his attention away from him to N'reinn, as she began to speak.

"I wish we did know why they pursued us. It'd make guessing their next move whole lot easier." The tactical officer turned to the Admiral. "All we can do know, is wait and see."

Knowing the Klingon's true motivations would be a huge advantage. Did they want to destroy or capture? Did they want information or something else entirely? Right now it was all up in the air.

Macadam slammed his hand down on the table hard. "How can they do this!?" he demanded of no one. "I thought we had a treaty. The Organian Peace Treaty?"

N'reinn shrugged. "They're Klingons." she said. "They take things as far as they think they can push them."

"Don't expect logic from a Klingon." Saaris added. "This may be an act of war, but the Klingon High Council will deny any involvement. They have done so previously in cases similar to this."

Thalon looked back at the Doctor, who appeared to be fixated on the Vulcan science officer's every word. There was clearly something going on between the two that he was unaware of. He just wondered if Doctor Schaffer knew his fixation on Saaris was so obvious.

Schaffer nodded slowly. "I agree with Saaris."

N'reinn shook her head. "Of course you do." she said quietly.

Schaffer slunk down slightly in his chair, trying to not draw any more attention to himself. Revealing to the Admiral that he did not know he was being so obvious.

Saaris continued, as if unaware of the small drama that had just transpired. "No matter what happens here, the Klingon government has most likely already proverbially 'washed their hands' of any knowledge of that ship out there."

Macadam drummed the table top with his fingers again. "I don't think we can really speculate on what their government is going to do. All I really want to know is how long we can hide here before they find us?"

Admiral Thalon responded, matter of factly. "We can stay until they find us, Captain."

Macadam looked across at the Admiral. "But how long do we have?" he questioned. "Do we have twenty-five hours, which is when backup is supposed to arrive? Or do we have twenty-five minutes?" He looked across at the doctor. "And if we are forced to abandon ship, then what of the radiation the gas giant gives off? Won't it effect us if we're down on the moon?"

Saaris responded, in her usual calm stoic tone. "The moon's polar magnetic field sufficiently shields the surface from the majority of the radiation. Only if someone were to spend weeks on the surface, would the radiation begin to effect them."

Suddenly there was a call from the bridge. Macadam hit the intercom button that lay on the table in front of him and spoke into it, fearing the worst. "Macadam here."

Lieutenant Kincaid responded. _"Sir, they have reduced their scan radius to around one-thousand-five-hundred kilometres of our position. It seems they are slowly narrowing on our location."_

"Keep me apprised of the situation, Macadam out."

That was that. They wouldn't be able to hide forever, and the wolf was slowly sniffing out its prey.

* * *

The doors slid open on the bridge of the D7, K't'inga class refit _I.K.S. K'intlaj_, as the self proclaimed Klingon Captain, Kroless entered. Kroless had a dark complexion, with short black hair, a black goatee, thick eyebrows, and much to his own chagrin, a smooth forehead.

He made his way over to the weapons officer, T'kinta and looked over her shoulder. Much to her annoyance.

"Have you not found them yet!?" he questioned angrily.

She glared at him, baring her teeth. "We have narrowed down the search to under seven-hundred-and-fifty kellicams." she informed him.

Unlike the captain, T'kinta was exceptionally dark. Her brow was heavily ridged, her hair long dark brown, and her eyes almost pure black.

Kroless looked at her board. "Why is it taking so long?"

She clenched her jaw. If he got any closer, she might just have to break his face with her fist. "The planet is giving off radiation, which is acting like both a blanket and a diffuser, scattering the readings. I am managing to narrow down their location. Once we have it, we will be able to destroy them."

"We won't be destroying them, not immediately."

"Our honour demands-." she began.

"-Nothing." Kroless finished. "They cannot possibly win. Let them get out another distress call before we render them inoperable. Then I may just destroy them. Or not." he smiled. "When the Earthers send out a ship, a lion worthy of our true attention, then I will prove my superiority. Till then, we will deal with the weasels."

T'kinta grew more annoyed with him at every passing moment. "Our mission is to find out what the Federation is doing out here. Is it simple expansion of their borders or is is something more?"

"The mission has changed slightly."

"We were not supposed to be discovered."

Kroless struck her hard across her face with the back of his hand. "I am in command now!" he told her as she glared up at him. "You best remember that, or I'll throw you in that cell with Wruk."

She said nothing as Kroless made his way over to the command chair.

Wruk was the ships original commanding officer. Kroless, who was originally second officer, had somehow managed to get many allies aboard the ship. When the time had come, he had killed the ship's first officer Worltz and took Wruk hostage. As far as T'kinta could tell, Kroless wanted both fear and respect from Wruk. To show his former captain, that he was better than him.

All she thought of him however, was that he was a coward. Instead of defeating Wruk in honourable combat, he simply had him locked away like a disobedient targ. For now though, she had to at least try to play along. Make Kroless believe that she was an obedient officer under his command. So that when the time came, she would be able to rally allies and retake the ship. So far she was doing a terrible job.

T'kinta turned her full attention back to her panel. She would find the location of the Starfleet vessel, and Kroless would play his games with it. When he got bored, she could then give them honourable deaths. Even if she found destroying a lightly armed science ship for no reason, itself dishonourable.

She looked over at Kroless as he smugly sat in the centre chair, looking out of the main viewer at the image of the gas giant. Soon she would wipe the smirk off of his face permanently. All she had to do was to find allies beyond the ships alien doctor and the chief engineer.

The Klingon weapons officer once again turned her attention back to her console as it told her that it had once again narrowed down the search to six-hundred kellicams.


	4. ST59OB1Chapter04FaR

**Chapter Four**

Captain Herrera was sat in the command chair of the _U.S.S. Shaandra_,as it hurtled through space towards their destination. Still being twenty hours away from the star system where the _Evergreen _was, filled her full of an unquenchable feeling of uselessness.

In truth they were useless right now. There was every chance that they would arrive at the star system to find a destroyed ship and a dead crew.

It sickened her to just think about it. They were more advance now than they had ever been before at any time in the past, yet they still couldn't get anywhere without it taking huge amounts of time.

She looked down at her left hand before noticing she had been tapping the arm of her chair rather hard, bruising the ends of her fingers. She moved her hand away quickly, placing both her hands firmly onto her lap.

"What's our ETA?" she asked the navigator.

"Nineteen hours, fifty-seven minutes." he replied.

Only ten minutes since she last asked, yet somehow the few minutes that made the twenty into a nineteen, made her feel better. Even if it was only a little.

She reached over to the intercom button on the right arm of her chair and pressed it down firmly. "Bridge to engineering."

"_Engineering here."_ an engineers voice said.

"Where's the chief?" she asked.

"_Off shift."_

"I was just calling to see if we could get a little more juice out of the engines. We've done it before, I was wondering if they had recovered enough to 'put the old boot in' as it were."

"_The chief was very clear that it would be another three hours before we should try pushing them over regulation limits again."_

"So we have to stay at warp seven?"

"_For now."_

"How about pushing it to warp eight. That's within regulation."

"_But we still cannot keep it up, and the three hours still stands."_

"When will the chief be back on shift?" Herrera asked.

"_Six hours."_

"I'll make sure he's back in two."

"_He'll be exceptionally grumpy if you do that, sir."_

"Well I'm glad I'm up here then." she replied, feeling some of the tension she was feeling slip away by the banter. "Captain out." she said closing the channel.

When the Chief Engineer was due back on shift, she was heading off shift. Somehow, she had ended up on Delta-watch, instead of Alpha. It was an easy mix-up considering how quickly they had left dock. She had insisted on first watch, which had put the whole watch pattern out of sync.

They would have to sort it out later though, after they had returned to Overwatch. She just hoped they would return with the crew of the _Evergreen_.

* * *

The _U.S.S. Evergreen _rocked from the impacts from the enemy vessel as they exchanged fire between one another.

The Klingons had eventually found them, and proceeded to fire upon them. But even as they fled towards the large moon with the nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, they weren't sure if they would make it in time.

Captain Macadam held on as the deck pitched yet again from an enemy barrage. All power was on the aft shields and impulse engines, he had even drawn some power from life support meaning that in about ten minutes they'd start feeling a little out of breath.

"Report!" he ordered, looking around at N'reinn.

The Caitian looked around at him "They're playing games with us!" she yelled.

Macadam had no time to think about what she had just said. "Explain?"

"They don't seem to be using all the power that's available to them."

The deck pitched again, by a rather violent hit. "I'd say that they're hitting us pretty hard!" he said back to her.

Saaris interjected. "The Lieutenant Commander is correct. They are using sixty-seven-point-seven-three percent of their available attack energy. That being said, it appears as though we outrun them at impulse."

"Does that mean we'll be able to keep the planet between us?" the Captain questioned.

"Moon." Saaris corrected. "And yes, it seems that we will be able to maintain an opposing orbit."

"Unless they cloak." N'reinn added.

"Unfortunately that is correct." Saaris agreed. "If they cloak, it will be difficult to track them."

"ETA till we reach the moon?" Macadam asked.

"Three minutes, seventeen seconds."

The ship rocked again, from yet another enemy onslaught before the deck pitched sharply.

"Hull breach on deck three." Saaris declared. "Bulkheads are sealed and forcefields are in place."

"Have we lost anyone?"

"There were three people operating in that area." Saaris said.

"They haven't reported in." Lieutenant Bridges said from the communications station.

"Can we go any faster?" the Captain asked the helmsman.

"No sir." Ensign Cooper reported.

Macadam was felt frustration bubble within him. They were totally at the mercy of their Klingon pursuers and they seemed more than content to play games with them.

The ship rocked again from another impact, but it was much weaker than the previous one. In some ways he wished they'd just get it over with.

He turned to Lieutenant Bridges. "Prepare all departments in case we need to abandon ship. All shuttle craft need to be ready and all access ways to the lifeboats need to be clear."

"Understood sir."

N'reinn turned from her station. "The klingon ship is reducing speed." she reported.

"They're letting us go?" Macadam questioned. "What's their game?" he asked no one in particular.

"They're cloaking." the Caitian informed him.

"They're playing games with us!" the Captain observed. "But why?"

"Perhaps we should find out." Saaris suggested.

Macadam glanced at her, before turning to the communications panel. "Open all hailing frequencies. I want to talk to their commander."

"Hailing frequencies are open sir."

"This is Captain Macadam of the _U.S.S. Evergreen_. Explain your attacks!"

A few moments passed. "No response, sir."

"Keep trying." Macadam ordered. "There must be some reason behind it."

* * *

Captain Kroless was a pitiful man. He may have managed to take control of the ship from Wruk, but that didn't change the fact that he was honour-less and shameful.

T'kinta watched him as he ate his large meal on the bridge, spilling live serpent worms onto the deck. With luck they'd short out the relay under the deck plates beneath his chair and set him ablaze. Too bad there were safety features that would make sure that wouldn't happen.

A few minutes ago he had once again delayed the destruction of the Federation science vessel, by ordering them to back off and cloak. He had roared with glee at how much suffering he was endowing on the enemy, and laughed even harder when they had tried to communicate.

If it were Wruk that had been in charge, then they wouldn't have attacked the ship in the first place. They were on an information gathering exercise for the Empire, and under strict orders not to reveal themselves. Though if they had been forced to fight, then their previous captain would have dealt with it quickly and efficiently.

The very fact that Kroless was drawing it needlessly out proved beyond all doubts that he had no honour. After all, there was no honour in any of this. One did not 'play games' with an inferior foe, like one did with an enemy that was on equal footing. Doing so shamed both combatants. Messing with an equal foe and still winning. That only shamed the loser.

T'kinta was brought out of her thoughts as a shadow loomed over her. She looked up to see her relief stood beside her.

"It is my watch." the smooth headed Klingon said to her.

She rose up from the station. "Enjoy the Captain's games." she said with contempt.

"Kroless is our Captain now, and you will respect him." the officer said as he sat down at the tactical station.

She moved off, not conceding to what the officer had said. She did not remember his name, and that was on purpose. None of the ones that had sided with Kroless deserved to be acknowledged by name, either by breath, or even by thought.

To her they were nothing more than drones, creatures to be pitied when the time came to retake the ship from the traitor.

She smiled as she saw Kroless spill more serpent worms onto the deck. _Funny_. She thought. _A worm eating worms_.

T'kinta left the bridge behind and made her way down the long corridor towards the stairwell, avoiding the elevator. After climbing down some stairs, she headed down another short corridor, setting foot into the small, barely used medical bay.

She smiled as she saw Doctor Salyan sat behind his small desk looking at something on a monitor.

He looked up at her with his strange black eyes, which oddly lay lower on his face than his nostrils, and his grey skin gave him an almost dead look. The oddest thing were his arms. Each arm had two elbows instead of one, each spaced equally apart making his arms look similar to the way the finger looked.

Doctor Salyan was a Mudonar, and his species was one of the first to be conquered by the Klingon Empire. They now formed the hidden backbone of the Empire. They were doctors, engineers and botanists amongst other things.

Most Klingon's of the great houses were brought up with the notion that being a great warrior was the ultimate goal in life, meaning that other important sectors such as farming and construction had very little actual Klingons in them. Of course no non-Klingon was allowed to own a major business, but the Mudonar did very well compared to other Klingon conquered species.

"T'kinta, it is my honour to see you here."

"How is Wruk?" she asked. "I know that you have been seeing to his recovery after the mutiny."

"He refuses my help." Salyan told her. "I stand there for a few minutes, take some scans and leave."

"Why do you keep pestering him then?"

"Kroless demands that I see to him at least once a day, so I do."

T'kinta growled. "That's because he wants Wruk to be in fine health. He has the foolish notion that all he has to do is destroy a powerful Federation vessel and then Wruk will bow in his honour."

"Won't that bring Kroless honour?" Doctor Salyan asked her.

"Not when it places the Empire in such a precarious position." she said. "We are supposed to be observing Starfleet in this sector, not fighting them."

"I guess the High Council won't like that."

"We have revealed our position. Gathering information on the sector is much more difficult when the enemy knows you're here."

"So what is it you dropped by for?" the doctor asked.

"Morro, the engineer?" she asked.

"With us, along with several of his men. But we'll need more. The question is who can we trust. Some of his men may be secretly loyal to Kroless, as such no mention of you has been made. In there eyes, it's the chief engineer who is in charge of our planned mutiny."

"It's not a mutiny." T'kinta told him. "It's giving Wruk back the ship that was wrongfully taken from him."

"Morro thinks Wruk is weak for being defeated. He wants you to be in command, T'kinta. You suspected before Wruk and he didn't heed your warnings. Morro sees not only your physical strength, but your strength of will. I agree with him. You would make a fine commander."

"Morro will be disappointed then, because I plan on putting Wruk back in charge."

"Why not take command yourself?"

"Because I care not for it."

"Is it that, or is it because you're in love with Wruk?"

T'kinta pulled out a dagger and pointed it at the doctor. "Do not presume you know anything, Salyan!" she snapped.

"You prove it by your reaction."

She sheathed the blade. "Perhaps I do, but now I must take my leave."

T'kinta left the medical bay and quickly made her way along the corridor. She needed to be in her cabin resting if she wanted to be alert for when Kroless foolishly went toe to toe with the Federation battleship that was surely coming to the science vessel's aid.

Perhaps the Federation ship would defeat them. She'd love to see the look on Kroless' face if that happened.

* * *

Admiral Thalon was sitting in the officers mess, eating some soup when he saw Lieutenant N'reinn enter with Doctor Schaffer. They quickly gathered some food before walking over to his table.

"Mind if we take a seat?" N'reinn asked him.

Thalon gestured over at the chairs. "Go right ahead." he told them.

The two sat down opposite him and began to slowly tuck into their meals.

Things had been quiet for the past several hours. The Klingon ship had cloaked and seemingly disappeared. The crew were still anxious though, he could tell just by how quiet the room was. Considering there were a dozen people in there, it was so quiet, he could hear a man chewing on some vegetable at the other side of the room.

Thalon looked down at his purple soup. It was apparently something from Axanar, but he couldn't remember what it had been called. All he knew was that it tasted strange and was quite unappetising.

He pushed his bowl away and looked at the other two. "How are things?" he asked them.

"Sickbay has a few resting injured residence from the attack, but ultimately is quiet." Schaffer said. "I hope the beds get emptier before this is out, not fuller."

Thalon nodded before looking over at N'reinn. "And you?"

"I'd prefer it if we had a few photon torpedoes in our compliment, but that space is taken up by science probes."

"Thought about using the probes to try and detect the Klingon ship?" Thalon asked her.

"No, the captain doesn't want to provoke them." she said. "Better if we just stay here and wait."

A junior officer turned around from another table. "Wait for what!?" he yelled. "Wait for them to de-cloak and blow us all to bits!?"

"We can't fight them." the Caitian said simply. "We just have to wait it out. All we need to do is survive long enough for help to arrive."

"And how long will that be?" the junior officer asked, not even trying to hide his anger.

"Another fourteen or so hours." she revealed.

"Too long." he said turning back around.

N'reinn pushed her plate away and stood up. "I'm no longer hungry. I'm going to go rest in my quarters."

"Don't get yourself worked up." Schaffer told her. "Think positively."

"I'm a tactical officer." she reminded the doctor. "It's my job to 'get worked up,'" With that she left the mess hall behind.

Thalon also rose up from his chair. "Well I'm feeling tired, been a rather stressful day."

"Yeah." Schaffer agreed. "See you Admiral."

"Doctor." the Admiral replied with a nod.

"Make sure she's okay!" Schaffer called after him.

"That's the idea." Thalon called back.

He left the mess hall and quickly caught up with the lieutenant.

She turned to him, the both of them halted in the corridor. "You following me Admiral?" she asked him.

"Just want to know if you're alright."

N'reinn looked around to make sure no one was close. The corridor was fairly quiet, with only one or two people moving around.

"I'm scared." she revealed in a whisper. "Scared that I won't be able to protect these people."

"All you can do, is to try your best." he told her.

"It's not enough." she told him. "They look to me when the ship is in danger."

"That's the captain's job." Thalon pointed out.

"The captain knows he's not any good at fighting. He tries to make decisions and it's up to me to fire the phasers, to regulate how to use the deflector shields in order to best protect the ship. He knows that I'm two steps ahead of him, and usually when he gives an order, it's already either being carried out, or is long since been ready to be carried out."

"Macadam feels the same way you do." he said to her. "Everyone does. The communications officer has to keep all communication lines open, to extrapolate important information from the chaff. The helmsman has to anticipate what you are going to do to give you the best opportunities to get good shots, while keeping the weaker shields out of the enemies line of fire. The navigator is having to filter and relay all the data regarding every object in the area to the helmsman, so they can accurately plot courses to avoid hitting anything. Everyone has a role in a fight, and everyone on that bridge feels the strain as much as you do."

"I know you're right. It's just that I'm directly responsible for the well fare of the ship."

"Everyone is." he replied. "Everyone is directly responsible. Don't forget that you are part of a team."

"I don't, it's just that-"

"I understand." the Admiral interrupted. "But you're punishing yourself for no good reason. Go rest, clear your head. You need it."

"Yes sir."

Thalon watched as N'reinn continued onwards down the corridor. He was concerned. Not just for her, but for everyone. They were all officers on a science vessel, and while they had all trained for it, combat wasn't part of the job description.

* * *

**A/N Sorry this has taken a while to update. When I started this story I had the drive to write it, but that drive has now kind of gone. I'll keep working it every now and then, but it may be a while before another chapter is posted.**


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